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Disengagement theory. Disengagement theory was one of the earliest theoriesproposed in social gerontology and focused on adjustments to role change among theelderly, postulating that role loss led to maladjustments for the individual. Cummingsand Henry (1961) refer to the aging process as “an inevitable mutual withdrawal ordisengagement resulting in decreased interaction between the aging individual and theothers members of his social system”. They further state that this disengagement fromsocial interactions that occurs in old age is a universal process. Thus, disengagementimplies a loss of roles, restriction of social contacts and relationships, reducedcommitment to social values as well as reduction in activity levels and involvementcausing a loss of morale.The Indian version of this theory is known as the ‘Ashrama theory’ or the notionof the four-stage ideal life course (Bhatia, 1983). This cultural version emphasizes thetraditional Hindu view of life and delineates four ‘Ashrams’ or distinct stages or phasesof human life and development. The first stage that every individual goes through is the‘Brahmcharya’ stage, which is a stage of learning skills and receiving an education andlasts roughly for the first 25 years of life. This stage is followed by the ‘Grihasthashram’,roughly coinciding with the domestic phase involving performing the duties of ahouseholder as well as raising and maintaining a family, lasting from age 26 to age 50.‘Vanaprastha’ represents a stage of gradual withdrawal, without reducingresponsibilities and is roughly between 51 and 75 years. The last stage, ‘Sanyasa’, isone of total renunciation of all attachments and submission of oneself to the pursuit ofspiritual freedom. Essentially this stage represents retirement from the mundane and4

routine activities of life. The third and fourth stages are often combined to represent thepresent retirement phase of over 65 years.These stages are not rigid or mandatory or even obligatory on the part of anyindividual, but they have been suggested as a means of ensuring a smoother transitionin life and are well known and accepted by the members of the society. This theoryhowever, views social disengagement with regards to age stratification, age based rolesand social sanctions. This theory however has been criticized since the amount ofdisengagement or involvement is now seen more as a function of past life patterns andsocioeconomic factors rather than being an inherent process (Palmore, 1969).Activity theory. Activity theory (Havinghurst, 1953) was developed in directopposition to the disengagement theory to primarily define the concept of successfulaging. It emphasizes that normal and successful aging involves preserving the attitudesand activities of middle age for as long as possible, thereby keeping the older adultpsychologically, behaviorally and socially fit. In addition, it also views the relationshipbetween the society and the aging individual as stable. Research has also repeatedlyfound a positive association between morale, personal adjustment and activity levels ofolder adults (Palmore, 1979).Activity theory postulates that the greater the role loss for the individual, thelesser is his participation in various activities. However, if the level of activity remainshigh, the availability and stability of role identity is also high resulting in an improvedself-concept and life-satisfaction. Activity theory has however been criticized foroversimplifying the concepts and does not provide an adequate explanation for theinterests and abilities surrendered by older people as they cross middle age.5

Continuity theory. Continuity theory views various stages of the life cycle asbeing characterized by a high degree of continuity. It starts with the single notion thatthe individual tries to maintain his/her lifestyle for as long as possible and then adjustsand adapts to situations based on his/her perception of their changing status. Thedecision regarding the roles to be discarded or maintained is largely determined by theindividual’s past history and preferred style of life (Neugarten, 1968). Even though thecontinuity theory has the advantage of offering a multiplicity of adjustment patterns,there have been difficulties in empirically testing this theory.Aging as an exchange. The exchange theory (Dowd, 1975) provides a linkbetween an individual’s personal resources and the nature of their social interaction.According to this theory, people enter into social relationships to derive rewards likerecognition, security, love, etc. and in the process also incur costs like unpleasantexperiences and fatigue. Power is usually derived from imbalances in social exchange,with maximizing rewards and minimizing costs. In the case of the elderly, there is oftendeterioration in their bargaining position and decreasing power resources, resulting inincreasing their vulnerability to a multitude of psycho-social factors.Thus, there are a number of factors that influence the aging process. Thesevaried perspectives provide alternative explanations of the aging process and add to ourunderstanding of the multiplicity of directions for future research.Social Network PatternsA variety of aspects of social engagement and social network such as duration,quality of linkages, and identity of the individual in the network have been effectivelyexamined in understanding the aging process. Research indicates that the maintenance6

of robust social networks becomes an important factor in prediction of satisfaction withlife, activity levels as well as adequate mental health of individuals as they age (VanWilligen, Chadha & Kedia, 1995). The aged in Asian traditions have always occupied aposition of respect to the point of reverence. Respect for age is a deeply embeddedcultural value, and possibly derives its strength from the ancient religious texts from theIndian subcontinent.Traditionally, the informal support systems of family, kinship and community areconsidered strong sources of providing support to the older adults in the society in India.Older adults typically enjoy an “ascribed” status providing them with authority, wisdom,maturity, prestige and power in the society. In general, in Asian societies, the elderlyremain integrated with the family and the community. The older people in urban areas toa large extent still enjoy a fairly high status in their families and are generally wellrespected by their children. Desai and Naik (1971) report that in the advice of the elderlyis usually taken in all family affairs. In addition, recent studies indicate that theattachment between children and their parents as well as the commitment to care of theelderly is an essential element in Indian culture (Ramamurthi & Jamuna, 1993). Thisincludes providing emotional, financial as well as socio-cultural support and assistancein varying degrees.Gender clearly influences the type and the amount of care received for a person.Women care-givers provide typically provide personal care, housekeeping tasks andmeal preparation, male care-givers provide assistance with home-repairs, transportationand financial management (Bali, 2003). In addition, the size and the composition of thesupport network influences the organization and provision of care. Larger networks of7

caregivers often result in sharing of responsibilities. Srivastava (1988) reported that66% of Delhi’s population lives in a joint family setting and about 33% population lives innuclear families, with over 60% individuals living in households with five or moremembers. An Indian joint family typically consists of an older married couple, their sonsand daughter-in-laws, unmarried daughters and sons’ children. The presence of at leasttwo married couples residing in the same house is the distinguishing feature of jointfamilies. The joint family is both a collective as well as a set of individuals. A number offactors mediate family exchange and can be classified into family structure,interpersonal relationships and personal circumstances. Research indicates that a jointfamily system provides an important mechanism for the social support of older adults(Kolenda, 1987).However, with the dynamic and rapid socio-cultural changes, several structuralchanges are taking place in the traditional Indian society. The pressure on the traditionalmethods of caring for older family members is expected to increase partly driven byurbanization. As a result, changes in kinship networks, living arrangements and intergenerational dynamics are likely to increase at a faster rate in urban areas of India.Members of joint families are living geographically apart and family structures areincreasingly becoming smaller and more independent. The “ascribed” status of the olderpopulation is gradually being replaced by the “achieved” status of the youngerpopulation resulting in drastic changes in family structure, social norms and anincreased psycho-social strain especially in the urban areas for the former section of thepopulation. The changing social environment has affected the family structures,individual lifestyles as well as the role of the family as a care-giver influencing the self-8

concept, incidences of depression, loneliness and involvement in the community for theelderly in India.Life SatisfactionA feeling of satisfaction with life is an important factor for a general sense of wellbeing (Neugarten 1982) and has been emphasized in research related to subjective wellbeing. Life satisfaction often refers to the attitudes that individuals have about their past,present as well as future in relation to their psychological well being (Chadha & VanWilligen, 1995). Research has indicated that the concept of high life satisfaction can beequated to that of successful aging (Jamuna, 1994; Husain & Singh, 1995). Themeaning of successful aging is elusive and can be highly susceptible to one’s ownsocial value or judgments about the important aspects of life. However, this conceptwith regards to life satisfaction has psychological as well as social implications. Firstly, itimplies the personal contentment with life and positive self-regard for an individual andsecondly it includes a personal appraisal of fulfilling one’s social roles or obligations.Successful aging includes three components: low probability of disease and diseaserelated disability, high cognitive and physical functional capacity and active engagementwith life (Rowe & Kahn, 1997). Vita, Terry and Huber et., al (1998) also report that inrecent years, a greater percentage of older adults appear to be living up to this modeland succeeding at living independently and without disabilities.Life satisfaction among the elderly is an important concept as it gives us anoverall view of the adjustment as well as adaptive coping ability of the individual.Sarkisian, Hays and Mangione (2002) further found in their study that individuals withlower life satisfaction and lower expectations about aging typically do not perceive it as9

important to seek health care for age-associated conditions and therefore experiencehigher levels of depression, have less energy and poor health-related quality of life. Thelevel of satisfaction among the aged effects not only their psychological adjustment butalso physical, emotional and social well-being. Therefore, social support network,perceived health and leisure time activity may be associated with life satisfaction.Subjective Health and Well-beingSubjective well-being is a rapidly growing area both in research and appliedfields of psychology. The concept is important for understanding the well-being of anindividual with regards to cognitive and affective reactions to their life along with specificdomains of life. Subjective well-being consists of three interrelated components of lifesatisfaction, pleasant affect and depression (Diener & Suh, 1997). High feeling of wellbeing and life satisfaction also has a direct impact on domains of life such as work andleisure time activity.The elderly invariably suffer from diseases of the respiratory system; symptomsof ill-defined arthritis and rheumatism, hypertension, congestive heart failure anddiabetes and many people often consider illness among older adults to be a symptom ofaging (Nayar, 1996). However, self-rated health or the perception of an individual aboutone’s health has a definite effect on one’s well being. Maintenance of health in old ageis linked with health beliefs, attitude and practice of positive health behaviors amongindividuals (Reddy & Ramamurti, 1996). Various theoretical perspectives have alsosupported perception of health associated with the nature of coping as well as engagingin positive health behavior by the individual.10

Protection Motivation Theory. This theory postulated by Maddux and Rogers(1983) is partially based on the work of Lazarus and Leventhal. It describes adaptiveand maladaptive coping with a health threat primarily as a consequence of twoappraisal processes. These include a process of threat appraisal and a process ofcoping appraisal, in which the behavioral options to diminish the threat are evaluated.Thus, individuals who perceive themselves as elderly are significantly more maladjustedcompared to other cohorts (Boer & Seydel, 1996). The appraisal of the health threat andthe appraisal of the coping responses result in the intention to perform adaptiveresponses (protection motivation) or may lead to maladaptive responses, which placesan individual at health risk.Health Belief Model. Perceived health can also be understood in relation to theHealth Belief Model, where it can be defined as any medically recommended action,voluntarily taken by the individual who believes himself/herself to be healthy and takesaction to prevent as well as detect disease in an asymptomatic stage (Langley, 1977).The Health Belief Model offers one of the most influential explanations for the reasonthat people engage in certain health behaviors (Rosenstock, 1966,1974).This model suggests that an individual’s decision to perform a health behavior isinfluenced by a wish to avoid becoming ill and a belief that a specific health action willprevent or reduce the illness. The model also specifies two basic types of beliefs, whichare hypothesized to motivate individuals to engage in particular preventive behaviors.These are perceived vulnerability to and the perceived seriousness of theconsequences of incurring a disease, which then heightens the ‘psychological state ofreadiness’ to take specific action. Given the high state of readiness, the direction of the11

action taken by the individual depends upon their beliefs about relative effectivenessand availability of alternative actions known to the individual (Rosenstock, 1966, 1999).Kergels (1969) has introduced the concept of “saliency” of health as being animportant modifier of the Health Belief Model. He suggests that the motivation toengage in preventive health behaviors may be operative only for those who view theirhealth as salient or having a high priority when compared to other activities in life.Although a few studies have completely supported the model, a vast majority orresearch has found only partial support for the model.In order to better understand healt

PREDICTORS OF SUCCESSFUL AGING: ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN SOCIAL NETWORK PATTERNS, LIFE SATISFACTION, DEPRESSION, . Doctor of Philosophy (Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine), August 2007, 49 pp., 3 tables, references, 90 titles. . on life satisfaction and subjective health with married males